WinLose
by nyakattia
Summary: Hands clapped, feet stomped, and people screamed their throats raw... Who knew that a game could be this exciting? DL, StellaFlack UST. Fifth in my Climb This Mountain series and a sort of sequel to Befriended but you don't have to read it to get this.


_let's get those teen hearts beating/ faster, faster!_

-Panic! At the Disco, _Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off_

The crowd roared as the ball fell through the basket, levelling the score as the time remaining in the forth quarter began ticking away. Hands clapped, feet stomped, and people screamed their throats raw as the noise continued to build, echoing around the stadium and reverberating through the concrete floor.

She felt it though her back as he pushed her against the wall and stepped in close.

Adrenaline rushed and hearts pounded as a fight broke out between opposing players and quickly escalated as their teammates rushed to help or hinder. Whistles blew as referees hurried in, waving red cards, dodging stray punches. The noise from the crowd reached out to lift the roof.

His tongue invaded her mouth as she ran her hands through his hair, down his neck, across his shoulders, and back again to link loosely behind his neck. He crowded her against the wall and she welcomed him.

Some were warned and others were sent of the court for their part in the fracas. The crowd settled back into their seats, leaning forward in anticipation. In the brief lull as players moved back into position and waited for the ball to bounce, they were missed.

They separated only for air, and only reluctantly. One of his hands fell to her hip, rubbing against her denim clad hipbone, the other threading through her loose curls.

There was a brief disturbance in the crowd as he moved down the row, occasionally apologising as he bumped knees and blocked the view. The girl sitting beside Stella told him to 'get the hell out of the way, detective' and he raised an eyebrow at her. Becca- she had threatened to kneecap them if anyone addressed her as anything else while she was out of uniform- didn't have the grace to even pretend to be sorry. He was laughing as he walked down the ramp towards the exit.

She could feel the seam covering the zipper of his jeans pressing into her hip and smiled as a power rushed through her veins. He bit down on her bottom lip and her hands cupped the sides of his head, fingers curling around his ears and slightly dislodging his silver framed glasses.

They weren't hard to find. He turned the corner towards the toilets and snack bar, and there they were. As he watched them for a moment, a feeling rose though his chest and lodged in his throat. A longing he refused to acknowledge. Someone he refused to name. It was easy to distract himself- he had a lot of practice. And in this case, easy targets.

"Hey Messer! Monroe!"

They separated quickly, turning; her hands dropping to his shoulders, pushing him lightly as heat rose in her cheeks. She felt a laugh rumble through his chest as he moved a half step back.

Players crowded around the referee, contesting a foul call. On the edge of the group one player in red shoved aside another in blue. He was shoved back. The crowd added to the noisy confusion, each member contributing their opinion. The clock was paused with only a few minutes left in the game.

They weaved back through the seats, passing Hawkes who seemed to be caught between watching the action on the court and the woman beside him. He spared them a nod and a grin. Stella- who had immediately accepted Becca as a kindred spirit- joined in with a declaration that the ref should get his eyes checked as the three of them sat back down.

She leaned forward to look past him and raise an eyebrow at the couple beyond, then sat back and grinned at him. There was a catch in his breath as the final buzzer sounded, the ball circling around the rim of the hoop. It had nothing to do with the game.

Someone won. He lost.

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If you are confused, every second paragraph (except for the last line) is written from Lindsay's perspective, and the others are either a general perspective or from Flack's point of view.

What do you think? Let me just declare that Climb This Mountain is BOTH Stella/Mac AND Stella/Flack. How exactly that will work out will be explained as the stories continue.


End file.
